Variable damselfly
This damselfly is so variably patterned that experts check a tiny plate under the thorax to tell it from its near-identical relative.
| Where | Well-vegetated ponds, ditches and canals |
|---|---|
| Size | 33 to 38 mm body length |
| When | April to July |
The variable damselfly is a slim blue and black damselfly, closely resembling the azure damselfly. Males typically show narrow, often broken antehumeral stripes that look like small exclamation marks, and a black mark on the second abdominal segment that is more variable in shape than in the azure damselfly.
It flies over well-vegetated ponds, ditches and canals, mating and laying eggs into submerged plant stems, with adults on the wing from spring into mid-summer.
Traits
Habitat
Wetland
Colour
Blue, Black
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; it neither bites nor stings.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Nearly identical, but the black mark on the second abdominal segment forms a clean U shape rather than the more variable, often stemmed shape seen in the variable damselfly.
Questions
Is the Variable damselfly dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; it neither bites nor stings.
When can you see the Variable damselfly?
The Variable damselfly can be seen from April to July, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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Dragonflies and damselflies›Narrow-winged damselflies›Coenagrion
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.